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Safety - Emergency Response

Why This is Important

Public safety agencies
(fire, emergency medical services, and law enforcement) are
typically funded and staffed to meet the demands of
“normal” emergencies and number of 911
calls.
A disaster can overwhelm local resources.
Traditionally,
the shortfall is made up first through reserves
(retirees,
volunteers, overtime), and then assistance from
neighboring departments. If the disaster is very
large,
state and possibly federal assistance is requested.

Pandemic flu will
challenge this
way of doing things. Emergency service providers are not immune to the
flu virus - no one is. Neighboring departments will be
overwhelmed with their own problems, as will state and federal agencies.

“Local
communities will have to address the medical and non-medical effects of
the pandemic with
available resources. This means that it is essential for communities,
tribes, states, and regions
to have plans in place to support the full spectrum of their needs over
the course of weeks
or months.”

Department
of Homeland Security, National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza

This means:

We are on our own.

Communities
AND individuals will be forced to cope with this with whatever
resources they already have at the time.

Impact on
Public Safety Agencies

During a pandemic, public safety agencies
can anticipate:

Reduced
staffing because of
sickness and death. Staffing may be augmented with retired and reserve
personnel, but this cannot be assured.

Long hours
in a stressful environment.

We do NOT expect the
National Guard
to be available to assist at the local level. The National
Guard
will have competing requirements such as protecting the country and
guarding vaccine facilities and supplies. They will NOT have
the
manpower to go door-to-door to help with feeding and injuries and law
enforcement.

What You Can Expect

Mild
Pandemic:
Public safety agencies will identify and prioritize essential
services. The following are EXAMPLES ONLY of how a controlled
reduction of services could be implemented. Each jurisdiction
will be making its own plans, based on its unique needs and resources.

Law enforcement.
Suspend certain services such as fingerprinting and vehicle
registration checks. Focus on the core, essential public
safety
activities of dispatch and patrol, intervention/interdiction,
enforcement, and arrest/detention.

Severe
Pandemic:
You can expect public safety agencies to seriously degrade or
fail. The default position will be to do the most good for
the
most people, with resources and personnel available. Do not
expect law enforcement response to a burglary. Do not expect
timely response to a kitchen fire. Do not expect ambulance
transfer to a hospital that has been closed.

What You Can Do:

1. Support your public safety
agencies. Contact them to see how you can help now, before a
pandemic.

2. Adjust your
expectations to what
is truly essential. Limit 911 calls to true emergencies- for example,
anything that might result in loss of life, limb or eyesight.

3. Work on making your
home more accident-proof by observing important home safety
recommendations. For example:

Prevent fires:
Get fire extinguishers for every floor, as well as extra extinguishers
for the kitchen, garage, workshop, in each car, and by any open heat
sources such as fireplaces. Have a service person check heaters,
stoves, and fireplaces every year. Clean dryer lint traps as
recommended by. Have smoke detectors in every bedroom and on
every level of the house. Have carbon monoxide detectors.
Check
batteries once a month and replace twice a year, such as at the
daylight savings time change. Removed batteries can be used
in
non-critical devices, like electronic games.

Prevent falls:
According to the home safety Council, the #1 way people get hurt in the
home is by falling. Use good lighting and handrails on stairs. Install
non-slip grips and a grab bar in the bathtub or shower.

Prevent poisoning:
Keep medications and chemicals in child-resistant packaging, and lock
them up.

Visit the Safe Kids USA web
site to create your own home-safety checklist with many more ideas for
making your home as accident proof as possible.